Hymn to the Aśvins
Rigveda IV.44 is a sūkta (hymn of praise) from Maṇḍala 4 of the Rigveda, one of the 1,028 hymns organized within the ten books of the oldest Veda. The Rigveda was composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE in Vedic Sanskrit and preserved through oral transmission across millennia.
This is a Good Works Translation produced for the Good Works Library from the Sanskrit of the Śākala recension.
1. That wide-coursing chariot of yours, O Aśvins, the gathering-place of the cow's light, we call upon today — the one that carries Sūryā, firm in its seat, borne along by songs of praise, most bountiful, seeking good things.
2. You two, O Aśvins, gods, sons of heaven, win that splendor by your mighty deeds. Vigor and abundance attend your beautiful forms, when the towering steeds carry you in your chariot.
3. Who today, having offered the oblation, will act for your help, or with praise-songs for the drinking of the pressed soma? Or who, offering homage, directing it toward the ancient lover of truth, will turn you hither, O Aśvins?
4. With your golden chariot, you who are present everywhere, come near, O Nāsatyas, to this sacrifice. Drink indeed of the sweet soma, and grant treasure to the man who worships.
5. Come to us from heaven, by way of earth, with your golden, smooth-rolling chariot. Let no other god-seeking men hold you back, since our ancient bond with you two has been established.
6. Now, O wondrous ones, grant us wealth abundant in heroes, vast, in every respect. When men, O Aśvins, have furthered your hymn of praise, the sons of Ajamīḷha have gathered to sing it together.
7. Here, right here, since I have joined myself with you two in this gathering, let this our devotion bring us the treasure of strength. Protect the singer, you two indeed, O Nāsatyas — this longing of mine is set, turned toward you.
Translator's note: several words are terse epithets whose precise sense is debated — vandhurāyuḥ (1), rendered "firm in its seat," may instead describe the chariot's long duration; kakuhāsaḥ (2), rendered "towering steeds," is an epithet for the horses of uncertain exact force; vārkaiḥ (3) is rendered "praise-songs"; nābhiḥ (5), literally "navel," is rendered "bond" in the sense of kinship; ājamīḻhāsaḥ (6) is a clan name (descendants of Ajamīḍha/Ajamīḷha), kept untranslated as "sons of Ajamīḷha"; yuvadrik (7) is rendered "turned toward you." These are translated conservatively rather than confidently resolved.
Colophon
Rigveda IV.44 is drawn from the Śākala recension of the Rigveda, composed approximately 1700–1100 BCE. This is a Good Works Translation rendered verse by verse from the Sanskrit text printed below. Prepared for the Good Work Library by the Tianmu Anglican Church with AI-assisted translation.
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Source Text: ṛgveda IV.44
Sanskrit source text from the Aufrecht edition (1877) via GRETIL (Van Nooten & Holland input). Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.
taṁ vāṁ rathaṁ vayam adyā huvema pṛthujrayam aśvinā saṁgatiṁ goḥ |
yaḥ sūryāṁ vahati vandhurāyur girvāhasam purutamaṁ vasūyum || 1 ||
yuvaṁ śriyam aśvinā devatā tāṁ divo napātā vanathaḥ śacībhiḥ |
yuvor vapur abhi pṛkṣaḥ sacante vahanti yat kakuhāso rathe vām || 2 ||
ko vām adyā karate rātahavya ūtaye vā sutapeyāya vārkaiḥ |
ṛtasya vā vanuṣe pūrvyāya namo yemāno aśvinā vavartat || 3 ||
hiraṇyayena purubhū rathenemaṁ yajñaṁ nāsatyopa yātam |
pibātha in madhunaḥ somyasya dadhatho ratnaṁ vidhate janāya || 4 ||
ā no yātaṁ divo acchā pṛthivyā hiraṇyayena suvṛtā rathena |
mā vām anye ni yaman devayantaḥ saṁ yad dade nābhiḥ pūrvyā vām || 5 ||
nū no rayim puruvīram bṛhantaṁ dasrā mimāthām ubhayeṣv asme |
naro yad vām aśvinā stomam āvan sadhastutim ājamīḻhāso agman || 6 ||
iheha yad vāṁ samanā papṛkṣe seyam asme sumatir vājaratnā |
uruṣyataṁ jaritāraṁ yuvaṁ ha śritaḥ kāmo nāsatyā yuvadrik || 7 ||
Source Colophon
Sanskrit text of the Rigveda, Śākala recension. The standard scholarly edition is the Bombay Oriental (Vishva Bandhu, 5 vols., 1963–66). IAST transliteration available from GRETIL (Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages) and Vedaweb (University of Cologne). Both sources are open access. IAST transliteration from the Aufrecht edition (1877) via GRETIL (Van Nooten & Holland input, CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).